In response to <a href="http://www.ajarn.com/ajarn-street/postbox/get-realistic-thailand" title="&quot;Get more realistic Thailand&quot;">"Get more realistic Thailand"</a> (Postbox 16th June)

"I think Thailand needs to be more realistic about what it's looking for with TEFL teachers..."

I don't think that Thailand has much of an idea what it's looking for. There's certainly no practical vision for the future in this area of education.

A 'realistic' approach would be to find all the native English speakers who want to live here (that have a verifiable four-year degree) and give them a simple hassle-free residency visa which is valid for as long as they are in full-time employment at a school.

Then <u>train them</u> to teach the Thai English language curriculum... after it's been designed to be fit for purpose of course! Once trained, the farang graduates would be posted around the country as and where needed.

Pay them a set salary into their own special teachers' Thai checking account directly from the Department of Education. Leave the schools and agencies out of the money equation. It's simple and it would generate an army of willing and capable teachers. And it wouldn't cost much either!

I don't see any reason to raise the rates of pay. The new teachers would be saving a fortune in visa runs and legal expenses, etc.

Mark